分类： 《新城要理问答》

问题34：既然我们是单单靠着恩典、借着基督得救，那么我们还必须行善、遵守神的话吗？
答：是的，因为基督用祂的宝血救赎了我们，也用祂的灵更新了我们，这样我们的生活才能表明对神的爱和感恩，以便我们透过果子得着信心的确据；而且这样，我们就能通过敬虔的行为赢得别人归向基督。
儿童版：是的，这样我们的生活才能表明对神的爱和感恩；而且这样，我们就能通过敬虔的行为赢得别人归向基督。

Question 34: Since We Are Redeemed by Grace Alone, Through Christ Alone, Must We Still Do Good Works and Obey God’s Word?
Answer: Yes, because Christ, having redeemed us by his blood, also renews us by his Spirit; so that our lives may show love and gratitude to God; so that we may be assured of our faith by the fruits; and so that by our godly behavior others may be won to Christ.
For Kids: Yes, so that our lives may show love and gratitude to God; and so that by our godly behavior others may be won to Christ.

歌谱 Lead Sheet

经文

《彼得前书》2 章9 节至12 节：

　　惟有你们是被拣选的族类，是有君尊的祭司，是圣洁的国度，是属神的子民，要叫你们宣扬那召你们出黑暗、入奇妙光明者的美德。

你们从前算不得子民，
现在却作了神的子民；
从前未曾蒙怜恤，
现在却蒙了怜恤。

　　亲爱的弟兄啊，你们是客旅，是寄居的。我劝你们要禁戒肉体的私欲，这私欲是与灵魂争战的。你们在外邦人中，应当品行端正，叫那些毁谤你们是作恶的，因看见你们的好行为，便在鉴察的日子归荣耀给神。

注解

司布真

　　亲爱的朋友们，基督徒必定有好行为，但这不是救恩的根，而是果实。好行为不是信徒的得救之路，而是表明他已经走在了得救的路上。好树会结好果子。所以，如果神使我们的本性变好了，我们所结的果子也会是好的；但如果果子不好，那是因为这棵树本来就不好。在基督里新造的人会想要脱离一切的罪。我们会犯罪，但我们不爱罪。令人悲伤的是，罪有时会胜过我们，而且自己犯罪后的那种感觉就像死了一般；尽管如此，罪却不能辖制我们，因我们不在律法之下，乃在恩典之下；所以我们要攻克它，并且得胜。

默想

里根·邓肯

　　如果救恩是唯靠恩典，唯借信心，唯在基督里的；如果我们得救、被赦免、蒙神接纳，不是基于我们的善行，也不是我们应得的，而是单单凭借耶稣为我们所成就的得到的。那么，基督徒生命中还需要顺服与行善吗？圣经给了我们明确的答案：是的。

　　首先，救恩使我们不只是免于罪的惩罚，还脱离了罪的权势。借着耶稣基督所成就的救恩，我们不只是已被赦免，我们也被改变，在耶稣基督里成为新造的人。祂在我们的生命中，将我们从罪的捆绑中释放了。但因恩典得到救恩并不意味着基督徒就不需要再改变了。因着神使圣灵在我们里面工作，所以，基督徒的生命不断地成长和改变就成了可能。

　　在基督徒的生命中要顺服神的话语，那么律法在其中的角色是什么呢？就是感恩、确据与见证。
在基督徒的生命中，我们所有的顺服，都是以感恩回应上帝在耶稣基督里对我们的施恩。还记得保罗在《以弗所书》2章说了些什么吗？祂说：「你们得救是本乎恩，也因着信，这并不是出于自己，乃是神所赐的，也不是出于行为，免得有人自夸。我们原是祂的工作，在基督耶稣里造成的，为要叫我们行善，就是神所预备叫我们行的。」（弗2:8-10）听清保罗说的了吗？祂并没有说，通过善行得救。事实上，祂特别排除了这一点。但祂说我们得救，是为了叫我们行善。是为了善行。所以基督徒生命中的善工，并不是为了拯救我们，或者让神爱我们，而是为了把我们的感谢呈给神，回应祂在耶稣基督里对我们的爱，以及在耶稣基督里白白赐给我们的救恩。我们对神话语一切的顺服都是为了表达对祂的感恩。

　　顺服同时也是救恩的确据。在保罗给帖撒罗尼迦的第一封书信，1 章3 节至5 节中，保罗向他们说，我知道你们是蒙神拣选的。这样说是很大胆的。你如何知道这人是神所拣选的？保罗在第三节对帖撒罗尼迦人说：「你们因信心所作的工夫，因爱心所受的劳苦，因盼望我们主耶稣基督所存的忍耐。」他其实是在说，「我看见了你们因信，圣灵在你们生命中工作，我由此而知，你们是神的孩子。」而在第五节，他解释了他们的确据是什么。看到神在我们里面工作，改变我们，我们就有了得救的确据，这体现在我们顺服神的命令上。

　　但主在基督徒生命中的工作，除了善行与顺服外，还有第三种方式，那就是个人的见证。我们遵守神的话，我们行善，我们就荣耀了我们的天父。而那些看到我们如此行的人，他们也会归荣耀给天父。彼得在他的书信中解释道，神要我们活出敬虔的生命，静静地展示在世人面前，所以当世人看到我们的好行为，就归荣耀给爱我们、施恩拯救我们的天父。（参彼前2:12）

　　因此，我们蒙恩得救，我们得以活在喜乐地行善与顺服神的生活中。行善不是为了让神爱我们，而是因为神已经爱了我们。我们要像祂的儿子一样说：「我的食物就是遵行差我来者的旨意。」（约4:34）

祷告

　　天父，祢已经救我们脱离罪恶。求祢不要让我们继续陷在罪里，仿佛我们仍是它的奴隶。祢给我们的命令就是生命之道。让我们珍爱这些命令。愿所有认识我们的人，因看到我们的好行为就归荣耀给祢。阿们。

Scripture

1 PETER 2:9–12

But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul. Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation.

Commentary

CHARLES HADDON SPURGEON

So, then, dear friends, these good works must be in the Christian. They are not the root, but the fruit of his salvation. They are not the way of the believer’s salvation; they are his walk in the way of salvation. Where there is healthy life in a tree, the tree will bear fruit according to its kind; so, if God has made our nature good, the fruit will be good. But if the fruit be evil, it is because the tree is what it always was—an evil tree. The desire of men created anew in Christ is to be rid of every sin. We do sin, but we do not love sin. Sin gets power over us sometimes to our sorrow, but it is a kind of death to us to feel that we have gone into sin; yet it shall not have dominion over us, for we are not under the law, but under grace; and therefore we shall conquer it, and get the victory.

Devotional

LIGON DUNCAN

If salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone—if we are saved and forgiven and accepted based not on our good works, not on our deserving, but on what Jesus has done for us—is there still a place for good works and obedience in the Christian life? The Bible gives an emphatic answer: yes.

First, there’s a place for good works because, in salvation, we’re saved not only from the penalty of sin, but also the power of sin. In salvation, through the work of Jesus Christ, we not only find forgive- ness, but we also find transformation. We are made new creations in Jesus Christ. He liberates us from the dominion of sin in our life. And so, salvation by grace does not mean that change or growth is unnecessary in the Christian life. It means that change and growth are now possible by God through his Holy Spirit working in us.

So what is the role of obedience to God’s Word, of God’s law in the Christian life? Gratitude, assurance, and witness.

In the Christian life all of our obedience is an act of gratitude to God for the grace that he has shown us in Jesus Christ. Remember what Paul says in Ephesians 2: “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works” (vv. 8–10). Now, did you hear what Paul said there? He didn’t say that we were saved by good works. In fact, he explicitly excluded that. But he did say that we were saved to good works, for good works. So the role of works in the Christian life is not to save us. It’s not to get God to love us. It’s to express our gratitude to God for the prior love that he’s shown us in Jesus Christ and for the salvation that he’s freely given us in Jesus Christ. And so all of our obedience to God’s Word in the Christian life is an act of gratitude.

Second, good works done in faith also serve to assure us. In his first letter to the Thessalonians, Paul explains that he knows that they are the chosen of God (1 Thess. 1:3–5). Now that’s a striking thing to say. How would you know people are chosen of God? In verse 3, Paul speaks of the Thessalonians’ works of faith, their labor of love, and their patience of hope. He’s essentially saying, “I see the work of the Holy Spirit in your life, and that lets me know that you are the children of God.” And then he explains how that serves their own assurance (v. 5). We are given assurance in the Christian life when we see God at work in us to change us, and that’s expressed in our obeying God’s commands.

A third way that the law works in the Christian life and that good works and obedience work in the Christian life, is in the area of witness. When we obey the Word of God, when we do good works, we glorify our heavenly Father. And those who see us are given reason to glorify our heavenly Father. Peter explains that when he says that he wants us to live godly lives quietly before the world so that the world will look at us and glorify our loving heavenly Father who saved us by grace (1 Pet. 2:12).

So, though we’re saved by grace, we’re saved to a life of joyful good works and obedience. Not to get God to love us, but because God does love us, and we want to be like his Son, who said, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me” (John 4:34).

Prayer

Heavenly Father, you have saved us from sin. Let us not continue in it as if we were still enslaved to it. You have given us commands that are the path of life. Let us treasure those commands. May all who know us see our good works and glorify you because of them. Amen.

问题33：信基督的人需要通过自己的行为或其他途径来寻求拯救吗？
答：不，他们不应该这样做，因为得救所需的一切都在基督里。借着善行来寻求救恩，就等于否认基督是唯一的救赎主和救主。
儿童版：不，因为得救所需的一切都在基督里。

Question 33: Should Those Who Have Faith in Christ Seek Their Salvation Through Their Own Works, or Anywhere Else?
Answer: No, they should not, as everything necessary to salvation is found in Christ. To seek salvation through good works is a denial that Christ is the only Redeemer and Savior.
For Kids: No, everything necessary to salvation is found in Christ.

歌谱 Lead Sheet

经文

《加拉太书》2 章16 节：

　　既知道人称义不是因行律法，乃是因信耶稣基督，连我们也信了基督耶稣，使我们因信基督称义，不因行律法称义，因为凡有血气的，没有一人因行律法称义。

注解

约翰·加尔文

　　我们坚持认为，无论一个人做什么样的工，祂在神面前得称为义都单单是基于神无偿的怜悯；神不看人自己的功劳，而是将基督的义加在人身上，仿佛这义是这个人自己的一般。神在基督里无偿地接纳祂，这就是我们所说的因信称义，也就是一个人失去了所有对自己功劳的信心，转而相信祂得以被神接纳，是单单基于祂里面从基督而来的义。几乎在每个时代，这一点都令当时的世界误入歧途：人虽有一定的缺点，但借着善工，仍可在某种程度上配得神的恩惠……不！神使我们与祂和好不是基于我们的功劳，而单单是因着基督才无偿地接纳我们做祂的孩子，我们就不再是忿怒之子了。如果神看我们的行为，祂就找不到爱我们的理由。所以祂必须除去我们的罪，将唯一可以通过祂审查的基督的顺服加在我们身上，并因着基督的美德称我们为义。这是圣经中明确的、一致的教义，就如保罗所说：「有律法和先知为证」（罗3:21）。

默想

提摩太·凯勒

　　你若把信心和行为混为一谈，你这样说：「我信耶稣为我所成就的大工，但还要再添加些什么，不然我就没有得救。」那么，其实你所要表达的是，真正有效的、真正关键的、真正拯救你的，不是耶稣所成就的工，而是你加上去的那些，那你就成了自己的救主。

　　这个比喻可以帮助我们理解：A 先生和B 先生是好朋友，A 先生问B 先生愿不愿意帮祂做个柜子，因为B 先生是个好木匠。因此B 先生心想，我要做个好的、完美的柜子。因此祂很努力做工，不断修饰细节，抛光到极致完美。然后祂带A先生到工作室来看，A 先生拿起砂纸说：「这里我想再帮忙打磨一下。」B 先生说，「不可以，这已经完工了，这是完美的。你加上什么都是一种破坏。」
耶稣基督的工也是这样，祂死的时候说：「成了！」没有什么可以添加了，已经是完美了。你添加什么都是在毁坏，祂已经做好了，但如果你还要加上其他的，你加的这个东西，就变成了你得救的基础。这样，你就成了自己的救主。

　　新教改革宗人士基于圣经，强烈反对在信心中掺杂行为；他们认为称义、成圣和救赎必须唯独借着信心。这些教义我不必再提。对我个人来讲，若不是唯独靠着信心我就无法生活。靠自己，没有盼望，除非我每天起来，心中有坚如磐石般的确据。

「我心所望别无根基，
唯主宝血并主公义。
除此之外虚空无凭，
我独靠主耶稣圣名。」

　　这就是我唯一的盼望。

祷告

　　独一的神，求祢不要让我们信靠善工或让我们觉得善工是我们得救的根基。让我们以全心信靠来荣耀祢的恩典，祢是我们救恩的创始成终者，让我们将生命系于祢恩典的应许之上。阿们。

Scripture

GALATIANS 2:16

Yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified.

Commentary

JOHN CALVIN

We maintain that of whatever kind a man’s work may be, he is regarded as righteous before God simply on the ground of gratuitous mercy; because God, without any respect to works, freely adopts him in Christ, by imputing the righteousness of Christ to him as if it were his own. This we call the righteousness of faith, that is when a man, empty and drained of all confidence in works, feels convinced that the only ground of his acceptance with God is a righteousness which is wanting in himself, and is borrowed from Christ. The point on which the world goes astray (for this error has prevailed in almost every age), is in imagining that man, however partially defective he may be, still in some degree merits the favour of God by works. . . . God reconciles us to himself, from regard not to our works but to Christ alone, and by gratuitous adoption makes us his own children instead of children of wrath. So long as God regards our works, he finds no reason why he ought to love us. Wherefore it is necessary that he should bury our sins, impute to us the obedience of Christ which alone can stand his scrutiny, and adopt us as righteous through his merits. This is the clear and uniform doctrine of Scripture, “witnessed,” as Paul says, “by the law and the prophets” (Rom. 3:21).

Devotional

TIMOTHY KELLER

If you mix faith and works, if you say, “Yes, I have to have faith in what Jesus has done for me, but I also have to add this or this or this, or I’m not saved,” then you’re saying that what actually saves you is not what Jesus has done, but what you add. It makes you your own savior.

This illustration might help. Mr. A asked Mr. B to make him a wooden cabinet because Mr. B was a great cabinetmaker. Mr. B and Mr. A were friends, and therefore Mr. B said, “Well, I better make this really good . . . perfect.” So he worked and worked and worked on the cabinet till he got it to the place where it had been buffed and polished to perfection. He brought Mr. A into the workshop to see it, and Mr. A picked up a piece of sandpaper and said, “Let me just add one little stroke.” Mr. B said, “No! It is finished. It’s perfect. And there’s no way to add to it without subtracting from it.”

It’s the same with Jesus Christ’s work. Because when Jesus died, he said, “It is finished.” There is nothing else to add to it. It’s perfect. And if you add to it, you subtract from it. If you say, “He did this but I have to add this,” anything you add becomes the real basis of your salvation and makes you your own savior.

The Protestant Reformers made strong biblical arguments that you cannot mix faith and works, that justification and righteousness and salvation must be through faith alone. I won’t make any more of those arguments; I’ll just say this: Personally, I couldn’t live if that wasn’t the case. I don’t have any hope unless I can get up every day and stand on the bedrock knowledge that

My hope is built on nothing less
than Jesus’ blood and righteousness.
I dare not trust the sweetest frame
but wholly lean on Jesus’ name.

That’s my only hope.

Prayer

One and Only God, keep us from trusting in good works or living in such a way that we imply they are the grounds of our salvation. Let us glorify your grace by leaning our whole weight upon it, staking our lives on the promise that you are the beginning and the end of our salvation. Amen.

问题32：称义和成圣是什么意思？
答：称义是指借着基督为我们死和复活，使我们在神面前被称为义；成圣是指借着圣灵在我们里面的工作，使我们的义逐渐成长。
儿童版：称义是指我们在神面前被称为义；成圣是指我们的义得以逐渐成长。

Question 32: What Do Justification and Sanctification Mean?
Answer: Justification means our declared righteousness before God, made possible by Christ’s death and resurrection for us. Sanctification means our gradual, growing righteousness, made possible by the Spirit’s work in us.
For Kids: Justification means our declared righteousness before God. Sanctification means our gradual, growing righteousness.

歌谱 Lead Sheet

经文

《彼得前书》1 章1 节至2 节：

　　耶稣基督的使徒彼得写信给那分散在……就是照父神的先见被拣选，藉着圣灵得成圣洁，以致顺服耶稣基督，又蒙祂血所洒的人。愿恩惠、平安多多地加给你们！

注解

亚伯拉罕·布斯

　　虽然称义和成圣都是恩典的祝福，是不可分割的，但神在其中的作为却截然不同，两者在各方面都有很大的差异。或许可以这样解释：称义代表法律意义上的人，是恩典一次性的工作，终止于本质的改变，即免受刑罚和享有生命权；成圣代表肉体意义上的人，是恩典持续性的工作，终止于真实的改变，即习惯和行为的改变。称义是因着我们所没有的公义，成圣则是借着我们里面从基督而来的圣洁。一个是因，一个是果。称义是以基督为祭司，注重罪的问题；成圣是以祂为君王，被祂所支配。前者剥夺的是咒诅的权势，后者剥夺了罪的支配权。称义是即时完成的，而成圣是逐步完善的。

默想

约翰·派博

　　「称义」是神的主动之工，借此称我们为义、完全或完美。因为，唯独借着信心我们与耶稣基督联合了，而祂是完全的、公义的。所以，「称义」是在神面前的合法地位，唯独借着信心在灵里与耶稣联合。你不能靠着行为或努力得着这地位，神宣告你是完全的，是因为你与基督的联合，这是唯独借着信心才会发生的事。

　　「成圣」也是神的主动之工，借着祂的圣灵和道一点一滴地改变你。有时是大幅度的改变，使你成为祂独生爱子的样式。所以我们在行为上会越来越公义，真实的在成圣过程中胜过自己的不完全。
「称义」与「成圣」的关系是什么？这是一个关键性的问题。关键的经文是——我爱这节经文——《希伯来书》10 章的14节：「因为祂一次献祭，（基督）便叫那得以成圣的人永远完全。」想一下这是什么意思，永远完全的是谁？已经完全，已经做成了，已经永远完全了，就是那得以成圣的人。被认可，成为圣洁，祂使你成为完全圣洁。是谁？这个「你」是谁？就是那得以成圣的人。也就是说，你在神面前成为圣洁、完美、公义的确据，就是你借着信，已经得以成圣了。我知道听起来有点矛盾，但这就是基督徒生命的关键所在。

　　或者这样说，你每天有能力和自己的罪、软弱争战，就是你已经完全的确据。你若把它反过来这样想：「神要我成为完全，我要在行为上完全，神看了说我做得不错，然后视我为完全。」不，实际上正好完全相反！我们得以完全是因为基督，我们信祂在十字架上所成就的，祂是一生完全的人。我们信祂，借着这信心，神使我们与基督联合。祂的完全现在成为我们的完全，因此我们在基督里已经是完全的了。而我们已经完全的证据，就是我们恨恶自己的罪。我们每天借着信，借着祂的应许，为要胜过自己的不完全而争战。

　　所以我要强调的是：请不要弄反了。因为全世界都弄反了，其他宗教也都弄反了，想要借着我们所行的、我们的努力，去胜过不完全，来取悦神，你做不到的。神认我们为可被接纳的，接纳我们成为祂的儿女，算我们为义。因这样的义，我们要用一辈子来成为我们已经成为的样子。这个名下，那么我们都需要去了解三位一体的实质。三位一体之所以很重要，是因为上帝很重要。

祷告

　　我们的救主和生命的主，祢已经做成使我们称义的工。祢也开始了使我们成圣的工，我们深信祢会带领我们完成。求祢日日更新我们，让我们能有祢的样式，遵行祢的道。阿们。

Scripture

1 PETER 1:1–2

To those who are elect exiles . . . according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in the sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and for sprinkling with his blood: May grace and peace be multiplied to you.

Commentary

ABRAHAM BOOTH

Though justification and sanctification are both blessings of grace, and though they are inseparable, yet they are distinct acts of God; and there is, in various respects, a wide difference between them. The distinction may be thus expressed—justification respects the person in a legal sense, is a single act of grace, and terminates in a relative change; that is, a freedom from punishment, and a right to life; sanctification regards him in a physical sense, is a continual work of grace, and terminates in a real change, as to the quality both of habits and actions. The former is by a righteousness without us; the latter is by holiness wrought in us. That precedes as a cause; this follows as an effect. Justification is by Christ as a priest, and has regard to the guilt of sin; sanctification is by him as a king, and refers to its dominion. The former deprives of its damning power, the latter of its reigning power. Justification is instantaneous and complete in all its subjects; sanctification is progressive and perfecting by degrees.

Devotional

JOHN PIPER

Justification is the act of God by which he declares us to be just or righteous or perfect because by faith alone we have been united to Jesus Christ, who is perfect, who is just, who is righteous. So, justification is a legal standing before God, owing to a spiritual union with Jesus, which is owing to faith alone. You don’t work yourself into or perform your way into this standing with God. He declares you to be perfect because of your union with Christ, and that happens by faith alone.

Sanctification is the act of God by which he, through his Spirit and his Word, is conforming you little by little—or in big steps—into the image of his Son. So we are really becoming in our behavior righteous, really overcoming imperfections in our sanctification.

Now here’s the key question: How do these two relate to each other? The key verse is Hebrews 10:14: “By a single offering, [Christ] has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.” Think of what that says. Who has been perfected for all time? Has been. It’s done. Has been perfected for all time. Those who are being perfected. Being sanctified. Being made holy. He has made you perfectly holy. Who? The ones who are becoming holy. Which means that the evidence that you stand holy or perfect or just before God is that you are by faith becoming holy. Sounds kind of paradoxical, I know. But it’s the key to the Christian life.

Another way to say it is like this: The power by which you daily strive to overcome the imperfections in your life is the confidence that you’re already perfect. If you get these switched around, if you think, “Okay, God demands perfection; I’ve got to become in my behavior perfect, and then God will look at me and say, ‘He’s doing pretty good; we’ll let him be perfect or count him to be perfect.’” It’s just the opposite. Because of Christ, we believe in him and what he did on the cross and his perfect life. We believe in him, and by that faith, God unites us to Christ. His perfection is counted as ours. And the evidence that we stand perfected in Christ is that we hate our sin, and we daily, by faith in his promises, strive to overcome the imperfections that exist.

So my exhortation would simply be, please don’t get these backward. The whole world gets it all backward. Other religions get it all backward, where our works and our efforts to overcome imperfections might make us pleasing to God. You never can get there that way. God reckons us as acceptable, makes us his children, counts us as righteous; and because of that righteousness we then spend a lifetime becoming what we already are.

Prayer

Our Savior and Lord, you have completed the work of our justification. You have begun the work of our sanctification, and we trust that you will carry us through to its completion. Transform us day by day into your likeness, conforming us to your ways. Amen.

问题31：真信心是相信什么？
答：福音中教导我们的一切。《使徒信经》对我们信仰的告白如下：我信上帝，全能的父，创造天地的主；我信我主耶稣基督，上帝独生的儿子；因圣灵感孕，由童贞女马利亚所生；在本丢彼拉多手下受难；被钉于十字架，受死，埋葬；降在阴间，第三天从死人中复活；升天，坐在全能父上帝的右边；将来必从那里降临，审判活人死人；我信圣灵；我信圣而公的教会；我信圣徒相通；我信罪得赦免；我信身体复活；我信永生。
儿童版：我信上帝，全能的父，创造天地的主；我信我主耶稣基督，上帝独生的儿子；因圣灵感孕，由童贞女马利亚所生；在本丢彼拉多手下受难；被钉于十字架，受死，埋葬；降在阴间，第三天从死人中复活；升天，坐在全能父上帝的右边；将来必从那里降临，审判活人死人；我信圣灵；我信圣而公的教会；我信圣徒相通；我信罪得赦免；我信身体复活；我信永生。

Question 31: What Do We Believe by True Faith?
Answer: Everything taught to us in the gospel. The Apostles’ Creed expresses what we believe in these words: We believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth; and in Jesus Christ his only Son our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended into hell. The third day he rose again from the dead. He ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of God the Father Almighty; from there he will come to judge the living and the dead. We believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting.
For Kids: We believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth; and in Jesus Christ his only Son our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended into hell. The third day he rose again from the dead. He ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of God the Father Almighty; from there he will come to judge the living and the dead. We believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting.

歌谱 Lead Sheet

经文

《犹大书》1 章3 节：

　　亲爱的弟兄啊，我想尽心写信给你们，论我们同得救恩的时候，就不得不写信劝你们，要为从前一次交付圣徒的真道竭力的争辩。

注解

约翰·卫斯理

　　什么是信仰？信仰不是一个观点，也不是一种表述形式；信仰不是若干观点的集合，无论它们多么的正确。一连串的观点并不是基督教信仰，就像一串珠子也不能代表基督徒的圣洁。信仰不是认同某个或某些观点。一个人可以认同三个，或二十三个信条：他可以认同全部新旧约（至少照他所理解的），却根本没有基督教信仰。

　　「基督教信仰」是存在于心里的有关神的确据或信念，即相信神已经借着祂的儿子与我和好；与此密不可分的是对神的信心：在一切事上，尤其在那些无形、永恒的美好事物上相信这位满有恩典，已经与我们和好的父。因此，从基督徒的角度来说，相信就是在永恒的光中行走，就是对至高者已经借着祂的爱子与我和好有清楚的看见和信心。

默想

唐·卡森

　　「我信上帝，全能的父，创造天地的主」，这就是公认的《使徒信经》的开头。严格来讲，这并不是使徒们写的，这是在二世纪才出现的。「使徒信经」的意思，不是使徒亲口陈述，但总结了使徒的教义，以归纳的方式反映新约的教义，是早期的基督教信仰告白。因为它在很早就被广泛地使用，并且跨越了全世界基督教各宗各派，成了少有的、联合基督徒的共同信念。

　　你若细心看、慢慢读，你会发现其中提到了圣父、圣子、圣灵、创造、童贞女的感孕、基督降临、死里复活、基督徒是什么样的人、什么是圣灵在我们心中运行，等等。语言非常精简，成千上万的基督徒都会背诵，或在主日背诵，或在个人灵修时使用。

　　我们必须记住一件重要的事，信条，从某种程度上来讲，是在那个时代中所形成的。不是因为圣经改变了，而是随着时间的推移，我们对圣经所问的问题会改变。比如在十六世纪宗教改革时期，也形成了其他的信经，所问所答也略有不同，但全世界基督徒都接受《使徒信经》，这是因为它在很多重要教义产生分歧之前就已经形成了。在这个框架下，它用很精简的几句话浓缩了福音。这是在二世纪的一种尝试，试图总结我们所读到的内容，比如在《哥林多前书》15 章开头的经文，那也是极其简洁的信条。保罗问福音是什么？第一，就是基督照圣经所说，为我们的罪死了，再加上其他部分不断地增补，就成了好消息，就是福音的内容。在这个框架中，神在日期满足之时，差遣爱子，死在十架上，并从死里复活，使一些人成为属祂的人。保罗称这些人是新造的人。

　　当你在主日参加公共崇拜，背诵《使徒信经》时，你要记得在这背后，是两千年的基督教历史。这信经跨文化、空间、时间，将基督徒连结在一起，所以基督徒能够在一起宣告：「我信上帝，全能的父，创造天地的主。」

祷告

　　造天地的主，求祢让这惊人的信仰告白成为我们鲜活的生命。不要让我们将神学真理与祢在时间、空间上的救赎历史割裂开来。不要让我们选择放弃，而是让我们的生命安息在祢使死人复活的真理之上。阿们。

Scripture

JUDE 3

I found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints.

Commentary

JOHN WESLEY

But what is faith? Not an opinion, no more than it is a form of words; not any number of opinions put together, be they ever so true. A string of opinions is no more Christian faith, than a string of beads is Christian holiness. It is not an assent to any opinion, or any number of opinions. A man may assent to three, or three-and-twenty creeds: he may assent to all the Old and New Testament (at least, as far as he understands them) and yet have no Christian faith at all.

. . . Christian faith . . . is a divine evidence or conviction wrought in the heart, that God is reconciled to me through his Son; inseparably joined with a confidence in him, as a gracious reconciled Father, as for all things, so especially for all those good things which are invisible and eternal. To believe (in the Christian sense) is, then, to walk in the light of eternity; and to have a clear sight of, and confidence in, the Most High, reconciled to me through the Son of his love.

Devotional

D. A. CARSON

“We believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth.” So begins what is universally called the Apostles’ Creed. Strictly speaking, it was not formulated by the apostles. It emerged in the second century. But it is called the Apostles’ Creed because the summary of what is given in the creed reflects the doctrine of the apostles, the doctrine of the New Testament in summary form. It’s an early Christian confession. But it is so early, and has been used so widely across Christian denominations all around the world, that it is one of the rare things that unites all Christians in common belief.

If you read it through carefully and slowly, you’ll see there’s explicit mention of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, of creation, the virgin birth, the coming of Christ, his rising from the dead, who Christians are, what it means to have the Holy Spirit working within us, and so forth, all in very brief compass in words that millions and millions of Christians have either memorized or recite every Sunday or sometimes use as part of their private devotions.

It’s important to remember that creeds are shaped, at least in part, by the era in which they are formulated, not because the Bible changes, but because the questions that we ask of the Bible change just a wee bit from time to time. Other creedal statements, for example, that were made at the time of the Reformation in the sixteenth century ask and answer slightly different questions. But the Apostles’ Creed is regularly said by Christians all around the world because it was written so early that it was used before a lot of the later important doctrinal divisions set in. And within this framework, it very ably summarizes the gospel in just a few sentences. In some ways it is a kind of second-century attempt to recapitulate what we read, for example, in the opening verses of 1 Corinthians 15, which itself is a very simple creed. What is the gospel? Paul asks. Well, first, Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and then various things are added and added and added until we have a summary of the great good news and its content—that God in the fullness of time sent forth his Son to die on the cross, rise from the dead, and bring to himself a vast number of the people that Paul calls the new humanity.

So when you gather for public worship on the Lord’s Day and recite the creed, remember that behind the mere words on the page are two thousand years of Christian history. The creed serves to link Christians across cultures and languages and space and time as together we say we believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth.

Prayer

Maker of Heaven and Earth, make the startling claims of our faith come alive to us. Let us not divorce theological truth from the history of your salvation, which occurred in time and space. Let us not waiver in unbelief, but rest our lives upon the truth that you raise the dead. Amen.

问题30：什么是对基督耶稣的信心？
答：对耶稣基督的信心，就是承认神在祂的话中所启示的一切真理，相信祂，接受并单单倚靠祂在福音里赐给我们的救恩。
儿童版：接受并单单倚靠祂在福音里赐给我们的救恩。

Question 30: What is Faith in Jesus Christ?
Answer: Faith in Jesus Christ is acknowledging the truth of everything that God has revealed in his Word, trusting in him, and also receiving and resting on him alone for salvation as he is offered to us in the gospel.
For Kids: Receiving and resting on him alone for salvation as he is offered to us in the gospel.

歌谱 Lead Sheet

经文

《加拉太书》2 章20 节：

　　我已经与基督同钉十字架，现在活着的不再是我，乃是基督在我里面活着；并且我如今在肉身活着，是因信神的儿子而活，祂是爱我，为我舍己。

注解

约拿单·爱德华兹

　　总的来说，我能想到的使人称义的「信心」，最好、最清晰、最完美，也最贴合圣经的定义就是：灵魂完全拥抱耶稣基督是救主的启示。拥抱是一个比喻，但我觉得它比任何正确的表达都清晰得多；它也叫相信，因为相信是灵魂拥抱一个宣告或启示的首要动作：当谈到一个启示或宣告时，我们就可以称「相信」为「拥抱」，这比爱或选择都更加贴切。如果只是谈到人，用爱就更合适。如果是谈到礼物、遗产或奖赏，则用收到或接受更为合适。

　　信心的定义可以有以下几种表达：灵魂全然接受耶稣基督是我们的救主；灵魂拥抱神启示的真理：耶稣基督是我们的救主；灵魂全然接受和仰赖神启示的真理：基督是我们的救主。

　　信心就是整个灵魂仰赖和认同这个真理，并拥抱它。要借着信心、意志和情感，使你的头脑和心灵全然臣服在这个启示之下，拥抱并持守它到底。

默想

约翰·叶慈

　　我们是否真的理解「救赎」这个词的含义，得救到底是什么意思，救赎到底在讲什么？

　　一方面，它代表得拯救，也代表被治愈、被饶恕、被接纳、被重塑而成为完整，是包含很多意思的一个重要的词。「得救」表示与神的关系恢复。神今生赐给我们生命，也赐给我们在天国中永恒的生命、永远的生命，所以救恩也有多重的意义。救恩是神的礼物，不是我们可以赚取的，很多人都误以为可以赚取救恩。不，这是神的礼物，我们无法赚取，但却是我们可以接受的。刚开始的时候，我们就要弄清楚这一点。

　　救恩可能是瞬间就临到的，就像撒该，耶稣去了祂家。耶稣说：「今天救恩到了这家」（路19:9），所以有可能就在那一刻，认出耶稣的信心带来了救恩。但救恩也必须自内而外地活出来。有一天，有一位老主教走在伦敦街上，有一位路边传道者对他说：「先生，请问你得救了吗？」他的回答值得我们深思。这位老人停下来，想了想，然后满怀感激地回答说：「是的，我已蒙拯救。我现在是得救的，我将来也会得救。」这是什么意思？他回想起他以前信靠耶稣的那一刻，在信心盼望中回转归向祂，他经历了救恩，同样，他也在表达，救恩是他活在其中的状态。这也意味着救恩是他每天都能在生活中经历到、学到的，救恩也会在我们与主同在的那天完全彰显出来。

　　当神打开我们的心眼，就是救恩的开端。我们开始意识到我们是多么的需要基督，我们误以为自己能够拯救自己，但这条路是行不通的。蒙拯救就像快溺水了一样，你知道你无法救自己，必须有人来救你，你必须放松，等待救援，如果你不会游泳，一直挣扎反而会被淹死。我们唯一对救恩的贡献就是我生来的罪性。承认自己生来就是罪人，这使我们意识到要谦卑地来到神面前，借着信心悔改自己的罪，把罪孽摆在祂面前，承认我们需要祂。这就是救恩的开始。

　　保罗在《罗马书》10 章说，凡求告主名的就必得救。信心必须是在基督里，唯有如此才能成为神的儿女，才能承受永恒的生命。这世代很多人拒绝接受这个。但耶稣说：「我就是道路、真理、生命，若不藉着我，没有人能到父那里去。」（约14:6）祂就是我们蒙拯救的道路。

　　这也是使徒们的信息。彼得在《使徒行传》4 章中说：「没有赐下别的名，我们可以靠着得救。」救恩唯有来自耶稣基督。我们是否真的理解「救赎」这个词的含义，得救到底是什么意思，救赎到底在讲什么？

　　一方面，它代表得拯救，也代表被治愈、被饶恕、被接纳、被重塑而成为完整，是包含很多意思的一个重要的词。「得救」表示与神的关系恢复。神今生赐给我们生命，也赐给我们在天国中永恒的生命、永远的生命，所以救恩也有多重的意义。救恩是神的礼物，不是我们可以赚取的，很多人都误以为可以赚取救恩。不，这是神的礼物，我们无法赚取，但却是我们可以接受的。刚开始的时候，我们就要弄清楚这一点。

　　救恩可能是瞬间就临到的，就像撒该，耶稣去了祂家。耶稣说：「今天救恩到了这家」（路19:9），所以有可能就在那一刻，认出耶稣的信心带来了救恩。但救恩也必须自内而外地活出来。有一天，有一位老主教走在伦敦街上，有一位路边传道者对他说：「先生，请问你得救了吗？」他的回答值得我们深思。这位老人停下来，想了想，然后满怀感激地回答说：「是的，我已蒙拯救。我现在是得救的，我将来也会得救。」这是什么意思？他回想起他以前信靠耶稣的那一刻，在信心盼望中回转归向祂，他经历了救恩，同样，他也在表达，救恩是他活在其中的状态。这也意味着救恩是他每天都能在生活中经历到、学到的，救恩也会在我们与主同在的那天完全彰显出来。

　　当神打开我们的心眼，就是救恩的开端。我们开始意识到我们是多么的需要基督，我们误以为自己能够拯救自己，但这条路是行不通的。蒙拯救就像快溺水了一样，你知道你无法救自己，必须有人来救你，你必须放松，等待救援，如果你不会游泳，一直挣扎反而会被淹死。我们唯一对救恩的贡献就是我生来的罪性。承认自己生来就是罪人，这使我们意识到要谦卑地来到神面前，借着信心悔改自己的罪，把罪孽摆在祂面前，承认我们需要祂。这就是救恩的开始。

　　保罗在《罗马书》10 章说，凡求告主名的就必得救。信心必须是在基督里，唯有如此才能成为神的儿女，才能承受永恒的生命。这世代很多人拒绝接受这个。但耶稣说：「我就是道路、真理、生命，若不藉着我，没有人能到父那里去。」（约14:6）祂就是我们蒙拯救的道路。

　　这也是使徒们的信息。彼得在《使徒行传》4 章中说：「没有赐下别的名，我们可以靠着得救。」救恩唯有来自耶稣基督。

祷告

　　使我们生发信心的主，我们相信祢就是祢所说的那一位。祢的话就是真理，它启示祢是我们得蒙救赎的唯一盼望。我们信祢的应许，是凭着信心，不是凭着眼见。阿们。

Scripture

GALATIANS 2:20

I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

Commentary

JONATHAN EDWARDS

Upon the whole, the best, and clearest, and most perfect definition of justifying faith, and most according to the Scripture, that I can think of, is this, faith is the soul’s entirely embracing the revelation of Jesus Christ as our Saviour. The word embrace is a metaphorical expression; but I think it is much clearer than any proper expression whatsoever; it is called believing, because believing is the first act of the soul in embracing a narration or revelation: and embracing, when conversant about a revelation or thing declared, is more properly called believing, than loving or choosing. If it were conversant about a person only, it would be more properly called loving. If it were conversant about a gift, an inheritance, or reward, it would more properly be called receiving or accepting.

The definition might have been expressed in these words: faith is the soul’s entirely adhering and acquiescing in the revelation of Jesus Christ as our Saviour—Or thus: faith is the soul’s embracing that truth of God, that reveals Jesus Christ as our Saviour—Or thus: faith is the soul’s entirely acquiescing in, and depending upon, the truth of God, revealing Christ as our Saviour.

It is the whole soul according and assenting to the truth, and embracing of it. There is an entire yielding of the mind and heart to the revelation, and a closing with it, and adhering to it, with the belief, and with the inclination and affection.

Devotional

JOHN YATES

Sometimes I wonder if we realize what a really big word salvation is. What does it mean to be saved? What’s the meaning of salvation?

It means safe. But it also mean healed. It means forgiven. It means adopted. It means having been made whole. It’s a big word. It means that we are restored in our relationship with God. We’ve been given life with God now, and we’ve also been given the gift of eternal life with God in heaven forever. So salvation is big. Salvation is a gift of God. It’s not something that we can earn, even though that’s the way many people feel about it. It is not something we can achieve, but something that has to be received. And we need to have that straight from the very beginning.

Salvation can come instantaneously, as it did for Zacchaeus when Jesus entered into his house. Jesus said, “Today salvation has come to this house” (Luke 19:9). It can come in a moment of realization and faith. But it is something that is lived out over the course of a lifetime. There’s a story about an old English bishop who was walking down a London street when a sidewalk evangelist said to him, “Sir, have you been saved?” The old man’s answer is significant. According to the story, he stopped and thought and then in a very gracious way said, “Yes, I have been saved. I am being saved, and I shall be saved.” What did he mean? He meant he could look back on a moment in time when he put faith in Christ and turned to him in faith and hope, and he experienced salvation. But he also meant that salvation was something he was living and experiencing more of every day. And salvation was something he was going to enter into more fully when he went to be with the Lord in the next life.

Salvation begins when God opens our eyes to begin to grasp how much we need Christ. As long as we think we can save ourselves, the way is closed off. Being saved is like being in the midst of drowning and realizing you can’t save yourself and someone has to come along and rescue you, and you just have to relax and be rescued because you’re over your head and you can’t swim and you’re going to drown otherwise. The only thing I can contribute to my salvation is my own sinful nature. It’s about coming to God with an awareness of our humble need—coming in faith, repenting of my sins, and laying out before God my sense that I need him. That’s the beginning of salvation.

Paul says in Romans 10 that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved. We live in a time when many people reject the idea that faith in Christ is necessary in order to become a child of God and an inheritor of eternal life. And yet Jesus said, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father but by me.” He is our pathway to salvation.

This was the message of the apostles. As Peter preached in Acts 4: “There is no other name by which we may be saved.” Salvation comes through Jesus Christ.

Prayer

Author of Our Faith, we believe that you are who you say you are. Your Word is truth, and it reveals you as our only hope of salvation. We believe your promises, walking by faith, not by sight. Amen.